According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a measure to lift the 17-year-old ban on gays in the military just cleared the Senate Armed Forces Committee with a 16 - 12 vote.

Bill Nelson voted to repeal the law that bars openly gay people from serving in the military. George LeMieux voted against lifting the ban. That votes puts him at odds with his former boss, Gov. CharlieCrist, who today said he'd now back the measure.

"The vote today railroads this policy change through without giving the men and women of our military the respect of being heard," LeMieux said. "To preempt the military’s review and cut off the opportunity for service men and women to voice their opinion is an insult. This change is political, it is based on election year politics, and there is no reason why Congress couldn’t wait until the military completed their review."